2015-16 CFAC

In 2015-16, 39 Highline parents, students and community members spent 10 months studying and deliberating about the need to improve or replace schools in Highline. The result was a long-range facilities plan and a recommendation for a bond to fund new school construction.

The school board reviewed the CFAC recommendations and voted to place a bond measure on the November 2016 ballot with all CFAC recommendations. 67% of voters approved these recommendations in November 2016 as part of a school bond package.

CFAC’s long-range plan laid out three phases of improvements over 15 to 18 years. Each phase would require a voter-approved bond to fund construction.

Background

The recommendations were the result of a year-long process that included analyzing enrollment projections, reviewing building conditions and financial data, and touring aging schools.

“This was a community-driven process,” said CFAC Co-Chair Danielle Houle. “District staff provided the information we asked for, and the community members based their decisions on data.”

The CFAC co-chairs praised committee members for dedicating many hours to understanding the issues and developing solutions.

“I been involved in many committees over my long years working for this community, and this is the best one I have ever experienced,” said Co-chair Clark. “The process we followed should be a model for problem-solving in the future.”

2015-16 Committee Charge

To learn about the work to date on Highline's long-term capital facilities plan, including planning criteria (class size, grade configuration, school size, etc.), inventory of current educational space, building standards, student enrollment growth projections, school building condition analysis and financial (debt) capacity

To recommend a long-term capital facilities plan that meets student capacity needs and supports the goals of our strategic plan

To provide a forum for the community to give input on a long-range capital facilities plan

To ensure that the long-range capital facilities plan reflects community values and priorities

To recommend to the school board a long-term capital facilities plan, including a scope and dollar amount for a future capital bond measure for the construction and/or modernization of school facilities

Committee Members

The 2015-16 committee was composed of 40 members:

Appointed Members

Maria Santiago - Highline Council PTSA Representative
Vanissa Guiberson - Highline Special Needs PTA Representative
Chuck Tuman - Highline Citizens for Schools Representative
Sue McCabe - Highline Education Association (HEA) Representative
Kyle Linman - Principal’s Association Representative
Dale Nuce - Teamsters Representative
Sophie Rock - Student Representative - Mount Rainier High School
Jose Bermudez - Student Representative - Highline High School
Keller Galo-Mejia - Student Representative -Tyee Campus
Larissa Merlo-Huerto - Student Representative - Evergreen Campus
Susan West - City of Normandy Park Representative
Jeff Robinson - City of SeaTac Representative
Michelle Wills - City of Des Moines Representative
Dan Trimble - City of Burien Representative
Lois Schipper - King County Council Representative

At-Large Members (selected by lottery)

Laura Castronover
Rose Clark
Joseph Clegg
Linda Cook
Barbara Daligcon
Jim Daligcon
Aaron Easter
Aaron Garcia
Michel Hansmire
Chad Harper
Jennifer Hefford-Anderson
Danielle Houle
Andrea Ivy
Nicole Jolley
Elizabeth Leavitt
Joey Martinez
Karla Ohrt
Jen Pilgrim
David Polda
Kathy Reed
Susan Rombauer
Nora Vivarelli
Tony Vo
Tonita Webb

In addition to 40 community members, district staff also attended the meetings. They were supported by other educational and operational staff, professional consultants, and other experts as appropriate to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Highline’s current fiscal, physical and educational conditions.

Staff Members

Dr. Susan Enfield - Superintendent
Duggan Harman – Chief of Staff & Finance
Scott Logan – Chief Operations Officer
Catherine Carbone Rogers – Chief Communications Officer
Scott Hodgins – Executive Director of Capital Projects

Phase 1 Needs Identified

The committee identified four top-priority problems to be solved in Phase 1:

Elementary capacity – With growing enrollment and state funding for smaller class sizes, more elementary classrooms are needed.
Middle school capacity – Current middle schools do not have room to accommodate growing enrollment and the addition of sixth grade.
Des Moines Elementary – This 90-year-old school was ranked as the Highline school in worst condition in an independent survey by architects.
Highline High School – HHS was ranked in second-worst condition in the same survey.

2016 Recommendations

CFAC recommended the following projects in Phase 1:

Security improvements at all schools in the district.
Rebuild Highline High School, preserving as much of the façade as structurally and financially feasible.
Begin design of new Evergreen and Tyee campuses, and Pacific Middle School
Build new school on the district-owned Zenith site to house Des Moines students, with room for growing enrollment.
Build a new middle school on the district-owned Glacier site.
Replenish the capital fund, which will be depleted in 2017-18. This fund covers critical needs and emergency repairs.
Make required improvements to Olympic so it can be used to house students during HHS construction and future school construction projects.

Please call 206-631-3002 to request a copy of the Powerpoint presentation that CFAC provided to the school board.

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